Mystique's Journey

by Daniel A. Jones

  Five minutes after they left their suite, Mr. Jones opened the door to a large reception room. An assistant sat at a huge desk next to an ornately carved and stained pair of wooden doors. Two guards in polished powered armor stood flanking the doors. Six comfortable-looking chairs lined the wall opposite the door. Mr. Jones stepped forward and introduced the group to Mrs. Farnsworth, Ambassador Quinn’s assistant. Mystique’s eye was drawn to six perfectly spaced half-inch diameter marks that lined the front of the desk. In her mind, Mystique could see those circles blasting outward as projectiles were shot at whoever was standing in front of the desk.

  Mrs. Farnsworth used an old-fashioned intercom to announce their arrival to Ambassador Quinn. A minute later, everyone heard the click of the door’s lock being magnetically moved into the open position. Mystique was the only one in the group to hear the other five locks slide into the open position. Mr. Jones opened the door and motioned for them to enter, while he stayed in the outer office.

  Ambassador Quinn’s office was very large and decorated in an old English style. The lower half of the walls were paneled with a dark stained wood. An average-sized desk made of the same wood but stained a lighter shade sat at the far end of the room. A sitting area with two Victorian sofas and two armchairs positioned around a coffee table strategically blocked the path to the desk. A wet bar stood against the right wall, halfway between the door and the desk. A large, half-full bookshelf was mounted on the left wall opposite the bar.

  Ambassador Quinn stood next to the armchair facing the door. He was an average-sized man standing about five-feet-seven and weighing no more than one hundred seventy pounds. His dark brown hair was just starting to gray around the edges, giving him a fatherly, good-natured look. The only distinguishing feature was his steel-gray eyes that showed his true strength of will to anyone paying attention.

  A middle-aged lady in an expensive-looking gray suit sat on the sofa to the left. She had short blond hair and dark green eyes, her high cheekbones giving her the look of a retired model. She watched carefully as they entered the room. Angelica felt her stare and a pressure in her mind as she walked in. Mystique was next to enter. She gave the two occupants a quick glance before focusing on finding the surveillance devices hidden around the room. Mystique stopped and gave a startled little gasp when a strange thought entered her head. I can see you; there is no use trying to hide from me. Daemon walked in behind Mystique and was the only one who observed her reaction. He quickly scanned the room and knew immediately what had happened.

  “Lady, that isn’t polite. I suggest you stop,” Daemon stated, causing Angelica to look back at him. Ambassador Quinn shifted his gaze from Angelica to Daemon.

  “Daemon, what’s the matter?” Angelica asked.

  Before Daemon had a chance to reply, the woman started to speak. “My lord, the lady here is projecting a calming aura that I believe will make people more cooperative. The girl is trying to mask her presence. The gentleman I am not able to read at all. He has a very powerful active defense.”

  Angelica and Mystique felt the presence of the beast enter Daemon but this time it was different. The beast was not angry; it was cold. The lady on the sofa went rigid, the veins in her temples bulging as her mouth opened in a silent scream. Then the beast was gone and the lady collapsed, unconscious. Angelica was the first to react, moving quickly to the lady’s side while she reached out with her senses to find any damage the beast had caused. Mystique stepped to the side, not sure what was going to happen next. Ambassador Quinn stood quietly observing.

  “She is not physically injured,” Daemon said to Angelica, knowing the ambassador was listening very closely. “She has just learned some minds are closed for a reason. If she hadn’t persisted in entering mine, nothing would have happened.”

  “Ambassador, my sister’s calming aura helps me stay in control of my anger. The lady forced her way through the barriers I have built in my mind to control that anger. Once she was through them, she saw the demon I must control. If you wish, I will wait in the outer office,” Daemon explained to Ambassador Quinn in a solemn voice filled with regret.

  “I don’t believe that will be necessary, but I will post my guards on this side of the door,” Ambassador Quinn replied.

  “Guards, step inside, please,” Ambassador Quinn ordered through the open door. Daemon stepped in a few paces to make room as the armored guards moved in and took up their positions near the door.

  With a little help from Angelica, the telepathy lady started to awaken. She was a little disorientated at first but quickly recovered. She took a quick look around the room until she spotted Daemon, at which point she yelled for the guards to kill him. Daemon focused his aggression sense on the guards and waited, standing with his back to them.

  Ambassador Quinn was the only one to react. As Daemon thought, the guards were waiting for his order before attacking. “No. There is no need for violence. Mr. Grayson has explained what happened and is under guard. Until he commits an act of violence, he is not to be harmed.”

  “But ambassador, you don’t understand; he’s possessed by a powerful demonic spirit. He must be destroyed,” the lady argued.

  Angelica had heard enough. “Ambassador, I think we should go,” she told him as she turned and started toward the door. Angelica hadn’t taken three steps before the door swung shut and the locking bolts slid into place.

  “This is my meeting and I will say when it is over and who kills who,” Ambassador Quinn stated with anger showing in both his voice and his face. “Now sit down.”

  Angelica put her hand on Daemon’s forearm, hoping to keep him calm. She knew it wouldn’t take much more for him to decide she was in danger and kill the guards. Daemon looked down at her and winked, surprising her as he allowed his amusement at the threats to cross their link. The guards had moved inside Daemon’s kill range and he was confident he would be able to kill or incapacitate both of them before they could react. Angelica just smiled, proud that Daemon was staying so calm. She returned to the sofa and sat across from the lady.

  “Mystique, come sit next to me, please,” Angelica requested politely. Both guards shifted slightly as Mystique stepped out from behind Ambassador Quinn. During the commotion, everyone had forgotten about Mystique and she had carefully slid in behind the ambassador. Mystique stepped around the chair and table to sit next to Angelica. The guards relaxed again and Ambassador Quinn took a moment to organize his thoughts.

  “Mr. Grayson, would you have a seat,” the ambassador asked, leaving little doubt that he had meant it as an order and not a request.

  “I think it would be best for me to stay standing over here near the guards. I don’t think the lady would be comfortable with me that close,” Daemon replied respectfully, using the etiquette his father had taught him.

  Ambassador Quinn took a moment to look at Daemon and decided he had intended no insult. “Very well. This is the Lady Kathrin Donavan. She is a registered level-six telepath. I felt it prudent to have her present for this meeting. The report of the events at the hospital left me with a number of questions about your power levels and abilities.”

  “Kathrin said that you are projecting a calming aura. Could you explain why you feel the need to maintain that effect?” Ambassador Quinn inquired politely.

  “The enhancements Daemon and Mystique received came at a cost. Daemon is prone to violence, as Lady Donavan has discovered. We have worked many years to get control of his problem and for the most part he is in control. We have found that my empathic abilities have a limited effect on him, which drops to no effect when he is enraged. I have found the aura tends to stop others from doing something foolish and triggering one of Daemon’s outbursts. I have been maintaining the calming aura for so long I no longer have to think about it,” Angelica explained, deciding to stay as close to the truth as possible.

  “The report stated that you have the abilities of regeneration, increased strength, and the ability to create a battle-axe out
of thin air. I have encountered enhanced individuals with increased strength and increased healing, but never true regeneration, and I have never heard of an ability to create anything out of thin air. Would you be so kind as to demonstrate these abilities for me?” Ambassador Quinn asked Daemon.

  “I guess so. I hate to ruin my new clothes, though.” Daemon was about to say something else, but a slight flash of warning caused him to move his hand in front of his chest. Mystique understood they had to get the ambassador’s help, but the Lady Donavan had annoyed her and she couldn’t hurt her, so hurting Daemon would have to do. Daemon’s excuses were all the justification she felt she needed to help him demonstrate his regeneration ability. She pulled Daemon’s hunting knife from her dress and threw it at him. No one, not even the guards, had time to react before the blade was sunk to the hilt in Daemon’s hand; the tip had failed to pierce his breastbone, but his hand was pinned to his chest.

  The guards sprang to life, lifting their rifles and aiming them at Mystique. Lady Donavan let out a surprised squeal as Ambassador Quinn triggered a small device on his belt, causing the air around him to crackle with energy. Angelica sat shaking her head. So much for a calm meeting. Daemon pulled his hand away from his chest, withdrawing the knife in the process. Mystique laced her fingers and held them on top of her head.

  “Bleen, that hurt,” Daemon stated calmly.

  “Oh, quit your complaining, you big baby,” Mystique ordered before bursting out laughing.

  “Where did that knife come from? How did you get it in here without triggering the alarms?” Ambassador Quinn demanded as he looked at the ten-inch hunting knife. Daemon held out his hand for everyone to see before pulling the knife out with a grunt. The guard on his left shifted the aim of his rifle slightly to cover Daemon. Daemon understood the guard’s concern and offered him the knife handle. The guard took the knife, only barely shifting his aim.

  “Stand at easy. I don’t think you would have done any good if Miss Grayson had intended me harm,” Ambassador Quinn instructed the guard. The guards shifted their rifles to the ready, unwilling to drop them back into the parade-rest position.

  Daemon wiped the blood from his hand on his new shirt and showed it to the ambassador. The knife wound was fully healed, the only evidence he had been injured the blood drying on his hand and shirt. Daemon gave the ambassador a few moments to think before turning to the guards. “I am going to produce a big axe. Don’t freak out.”

  Daemon put his hand out and whispered “Ur-Um Gil-Im.” A four-foot long double-bladed battle-axe with a jeweled handle and four large gems in the pommel appeared in Daemon’s hand. The shaft continued past the blades to end in a spike projecting six inches beyond the top of the blades. Lady Donavan’s eyes went wide in amazement as her mouth dropped open. She had seen the metal the battle-axe was made from before. It was very rare and very expensive and no one had ever made a weapon out of it. It was only used in the creation of psionic amplifying devices and then only in small amounts. Ambassador Quinn’s eyes fixed on the gems mounted in the pommel. He recognized only three of the four: a star sapphire, a ruby, and a diamond. The fourth he had never seen before, which intrigued him. The gems were all smoothly polished ovals at least two inches long and an inch wide.

  “May I hold it?” Ambassador Quinn asked, still in awe.

  Daemon thought for a second before turning to the guard holding his hunting knife. “Why don’t you hand it to him?” Daemon said to the guard with a smile and a wink. The guard reached out, carefully took the battle-axe, and delivered it to Ambassador Quinn.

  The ambassador carefully lifted it out of the guard’s hand, amazed at how light it was. “This is amazing. How do you do it? Where does it come from?”

  “I am not sure where it comes from or how it works. I just woke up one morning and knew how to call it and how to send it away,” Daemon explained, hoping the ambassador wouldn’t push for more details. Daemon watched as Lady Donavan built up the courage to reach over and touch the handle. She instantly felt the power of the weapon surge through her, and then it was gone. Ambassador Quinn jumped in amazement as the battle-axe disappeared from his grasp. Daemon had whispered something and the axe was gone.

  “I’m sorry, but I got a bad feeling when I noticed Lady Donavan touch the axe,” Daemon explained when Ambassador Quinn looked up at him.

  “Is it any good as a weapon, or is it just for show? I mean no offense, but it was so light,” Ambassador Quinn inquired, still amazed at the balance and weight of the weapon.

  Pride won out over prudence. “I haven’t found a metal yet that I can’t cut,” Daemon bragged with a broad smile.

  “Care to show me? You could hit Alex. His armor will protect him,” Ambassador Quinn volunteered.

  “I don’t want to risk hurting him. Is there something else?” Daemon replied, knowing that his axe would cut right through Alex’s armor.

  “How about the door? It’s armored and stronger than the powered armor. I don’t expect you will be able to do much damage to it,” Ambassador Quinn offered.

  “Okay.” Daemon turned toward the closed door and started thrusting his right hand toward it. The battle-axe appeared in his hand in mid-thrust. The tip of the axe pierced the door, driving all the way through to the tips of the blades. Daemon didn’t even bother pulling it out; he just caused it to disappear, only to reappear a second later as he brought the blade down and sliced a three-foot gash in the door a full inch wide.

  Mrs. Farnsworth screamed out in surprise at the sudden assault on the door. Alarms throughout the embassy started to sound as the panic button she hit sent out its call for help. Alex and his partner both took a step away from Daemon, realizing the danger of being too close. Ambassador Quinn stepped over to his desk to contact security. He informed them there was no problem and that he would need a new door.

  “Showoff,” Mystique observed, flashing Daemon a look of disapproval that made him realize his mistake.

  “As dangerous as Mr. Grayson is, I would wager that Miss. Grayson is the true threat. Wouldn’t you agree, Lady Donavan?” Ambassador Quinn asked as he rejoined the group.

  “Yes, but that doesn’t diminish the threat he represents,” Lady Donavan commented as she watched Daemon closely.

  “I am grateful you chose not to demonstrate on Alex. I should have known better,” Ambassador Quinn told Daemon before turning to Angelica.

  “Miss. Grayson, your file is equally intriguing. It says you knocked Mr. Jones out without touching him, as well as possessing a powerful healing ability. The most common psionic power is enhanced sensory awareness. True healers are fairly rare in a community that is only a thousandth of one percent of the population. Your file doesn’t mention anything about you being able to manipulate the emotions of others,” Ambassador Quinn said to Angelica before pausing to give her a chance to explain.

  “Mr. Jones took my arm and I was in no mood to be touched, so I simply enhanced his fatigue, causing him to pass out. I didn’t hurt him,” Angelica explained a little defensively.

  “Ambassador, the mere fact that she can affect others with her abilities rates her at level five and entitles her to at least one bodyguard. The question of whether the story from last night will hold should now be a nonissue. If Miss Grayson’s life was endangered then you were well within your rights to protect her. The fact that Miss Grayson’s sister was injured earlier just ads credibility,” Lady Donavan explained, feeling more comfortable talking about the topic she was very familiar with.

  “Lady, you can stop the act. We all know that I’m not Angelica and Daemon’s sister, so we might as well stop pretending,” Mystique stated still a little annoyed at Lady Donavan.

  “Thank you for the information. I didn’t know that your mind is too well-hidden for me to get anything but a few surface thoughts,” Lady Donavan replied to Mystique, causing Mystique to this time become annoyed with herself.

  “Miss. Grayson, are you shielding Mystique or is she doing that
herself?” Lady Donavan asked Angelica, politely motioning toward Mystique.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am not doing anything to anyone except helping everyone stay calm,” Angelica explained.

  “I see,” Lady Donavan replied thoughtfully, looking at Mystique. Mystique knew the lady was trying to read her thoughts and didn’t like it.

  “Lady Donavan, stay out of my head. The next time I think you’re reading my mind, I am going to kill you, and don’t think the guards are going to do anything more than avenge your death,” Mystique stated in a cold, emotionless voice that sent a shiver down Angelica’s spine. Lady Donavan looked Mystique in the eyes for just a second before looking away nervously.

  “You are a dangerous and violent lot, aren’t you? Kathrin, I thank you for your time, but I think it would be best if you were to leave us to discuss matters. I will speak with you later,” Ambassador Quinn instructed, trying to diffuse the tension in the room.

  “Very well. I will, of course, let you know if any outside influence was used during the meeting,” Lady Donavan said, glancing at Angelica. Daemon noted the glance and decided he didn’t care for Lady Donavan.

  They all watched as Lady Donavan slowly left the room, trying to maintain an air of superiority as she went. Once she’d left and the door was closed again, Ambassador Quinn started asking the trio about their intentions and what their plans were for the future. To their relief, Ambassador Quinn never asked anything about their past except to inquire if anyone or any group was looking for them.

  The meeting with Ambassador Quinn lasted the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. When they were finally finished, the ambassador escorted them to the executive dining room where they enjoyed a nice meal together.

  Daemon and Angelica were going back to East Hollow where a psionic evaluation team would meet them. The team would maintain a low profile while testing Angelica to determine the extent of her abilities and provide any training she might require. The team would also test Daemon to learn more about his abilities and enhancements.